Stock Smackdown: Cramer vs. CAPS

There's no denying that Mad Money host Jim Cramer is entertaining, popular, and passionate. On many occasions, he's even right. So he's smart, funny, and the closest thing to a stock market rock star -- but is he smarter than you?

Cramming for Cramer
The Fool's free investing community, Motley Fool CAPS, aggregates the opinion of more than 145,000 members to assign ratings for each stock's likelihood of outperforming or underperforming the market.

Below, we look at some top stocks that Cramer picked and panned during last week's "lightning rounds" and compare them with how the CAPS community sees their future.

Cramer says
Everyone loves getting behind an underdog and supporting its turnaround story, particularly a riches-to-rags-to-riches tale. Jim Cramer believes Ford represents that sort of feel-good narrative.

I will tell you what it is, it is a super-dee-duper buy ... it is an unbelievable buy ... and I like the Ford preferred even more ... I got to tell you Al Mulally has done a remarkable job, we should all be proud, you should be proud, I am proud.. This is really the great comeback story of all time ... he would have been my man of the year if Bernanke did not exist ... I think that Ford is going much higher ... big numbers coming.

CAPS says
In the CAPS community, more than two-thirds of the members rating Ford think it will outperform the broader market. meandthekid, for example, likes recent cost-cutting measures coupled with growing international sales.

The only one of the BIG 3 that has not taken any money from the US Govmt.. Overseas sales are rising, still make the best utility trucks in the country. Buyouts to employees are a positive move to cut overhead costs. The company is giving a great attempt to survive and stay profitable.

This Fool says
I can't say I disagree with Cramer's reasoning here. Time magazine has a choice when it comes to naming its person of the year, either someone who has done a lot of good or one who is the most influential. I'd argue that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke easily falls into the last category, but as good as the Ford story has been lately, we can't get too caught up in the moment and ignore the monumental challenges the carmaker still faces.

Some of its recent good fortune, for example, comes as a direct result of government help it had otherwise rejected. Cash for Clunkers was a large part of the economic growth we saw in the third quarter, and the Commerce Department highlighted motor vehicle output as the overwhelming driver behind third-quarter growth in real gross domestic product. Sure, Ford and GM would have sold some cars even without the government giveaway, but vehicle sales fueled 1.45 percentage points of the total 2.2% growth achieved (which has been revised down from 2.8%).

I don't think anyone believes car sales would have been nearly as great as they were had it not been for the taxpayer subsidy. After so many sales, Ford and other carmakers may see a bleak outlook for the fourth quarter and beyond.

Ford has turned out to be a great success story, and I look forward to a fairy-tale ending. I just don't think we can get caught up in the romance and ignore the crushing debt, burdensome legacy costs, and structural disadvantages Ford still carries.

Your say
While CAPS members may stand with Jim Cramer or on opposite sides of the field, the investor community is more than what some All-Stars think, even if they are TV personalities. But what do you think? Is Cramer right or off his rocker? The contents are hot over on CAPS, so why not motor on over to Ford's CAPS page and add your say on its future.

Motley Fool CAPS is a great place to start your own research on these stocks. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made -- all from a stock's CAPS page. Best of all, it's free.